Beyond words: The importance of gesture to researchers and learners

Gesture has privileged access to information that children know but do not say. As such, it can serve as an additional window to the mind of the devel oping child, one that researchers are only beginning to acknowledge. Gestur e might, however, do more than merely reflect understanding-it may be invol ved in the process of cognitive change itself. This question will guide res earch on gesture as we enter the new millennium. Gesture might contribute t o change through two mechanisms which are not mutually exclusive: (1) indir ectly, by communicating unspoken aspects of the learner's cognitive state t o potential agents of change (parents, teachers, siblings, friends); and (2 ) directly by offering the learner a simpler way to express and explore ide as that may be difficult to think through in a verbal format, thus easing t he learner's cognitive burden. As a result, the next decade may well offer evidence of gesture's dual potential as an illuminating tool for researcher s and as a facilitator of cognitive growth for learners themselves.